Posted on Tuesday, March 24, 2020

We wish to set out the measures that we are taking as a business in response to the escalating situation in the UK due to COVID-19. 

Our offices are manned but the doors are closed and we are only allowing essential visitors – by appointment only.

Customer and colleague safety remains our top priority.

Our Property and Tenancy management systems and telephony can still be accessed remotely and staff are working from home very effectively. We will endeavour to keep business disruption to our customers to a minimum but are informing Sellers, Buyers, Landlords and Tenants that there may be circumstances in which we are unable to facilitate access to a property for a viewing or for repairs or maintenance, if, for example, an occupant is self-isolating or if Government policy changes. If these issues arise in connection with your property, we will inform you accordingly and we will continue to keep you informed as is necessary via email and/or our website.   

Additional information for our customers:

Sellers and Buyers

We are making every effort to support current transactions to see them through to completion, working closely with all third parties involved. Marketing activity is ongoing for properties that are still for sale, and our staff are carrying out viewings following government guidance, if it is safe to do so. 

If viewings cannot be carried out as planned, due to the self-isolation of vendors, diary notes will be made to ensure we follow up promptly on your behalf when the relevant isolation period has expired.

Tenants

We continue to support our tenants in the usual way. If you need to report a maintenance issue you can continue to email and/or telephone for the Property Managers.

All contractors who attend your property will be following the usual guidelines and only entering the property if it is safe to do so. They will require social distancing for instance, so please understand, this is for your protection as well as theirs.  Maintenance will be scheduled in order of and it may mean that you will need to wait a little longer than normal in these difficult times.  Obviously emergency maintenance will always be our priority.

Tenants who are self-isolating should contact us in the usual way. We can then ensure your recovery time is not interrupted by repair or maintenance activity. This will be re-scheduled for a time after the expiry of your period of self-isolation.

Please see below regarding Routine Property Visits

If you have any concerns about your current tenancy you can contact us . We will continue to update this page as we find out more about government plans to support tenants. 

Landlords

At present there is no current COVID-19 government guidance that is specific to the private rental sector, therefore we continue to provide as normal a property management service as possible. We are assuming that all regulatory requirements, for example, gas safety checks, should be carried out as necessary. We will also advise you if we receive reports of a tenant self-isolating or if any of our usual services might be disrupted. 

For landlords who manage their own repairs and maintenance issues, we recommend you review the government publications and check-ahead with your tenant(s) prior to visiting your property. 

Routine Property Visits:

There are changes that need to be made, eg to avoid physical contact etc, and consequently physical routine property visits are on hold for the moment, as they are much more difficult due to isolations, sickness and concerns – and to adhere to Government Guidance and instructions for social distancing and essential working, but we are working to use other methods where we can to cover these things, such as video/ facetime/ skype etc and photographs will be sent to us where needed.  We will make these contacts as necessary with tenants, and reports will then be given to landlords as normal.  Thank you for your understanding and support with this, we will continue to do our best.

Self-Isolation Guidance

Stay at home guidance for people with confirmed or possible coronavirus is available here: www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/self-isolation-advice/

If you are managing the property yourself, you have a responsibility to inform any third party that may visit the property, cleaners, tradesmen etc., if you have a tenant in self-isolation.

Next steps

We hope this information has proved useful and we will continue to monitor government advice and guidance and provide relevant updates on this page as necessary.

If, as a result of the way that this situation may affect you personally, you need us to make some adjustments to the way that we provide our services to you, we will do all that we can to support your request. 

If you have any concerns about Coronavirus or would like to speak to us about your property, please feel free to contact us .

We see many other Estate and Letting agents proudly stating they’re still open. Why? There is NO pride in risking the safety of your staff, yourselves, your customers and the wider public.

Let’s keep this economy moving forward. And let’s do it in a way that protects those vulnerable to this virus. We can be smart, we can be kind. 

We each now must come together as ONE WORLD to protect those most vulnerable and each have a part to play in defeating this terrible virus. Minimising the risk of infection and the risk of spreading this virus is the LEAST we can do. Others, if they can, should do the same, and should do it NOW. It’s easy to reopen again. We don’t know what’s around the corner. What we do know, however, is that we are strong as a business, as people, and as a community. We will survive but it will not be without the support of others.

Therefore I ask each and every one of you to SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BUSINESSES even when their shops are closed. We are working remotely from home, as so many others are, to help safeguard EVERYONE. Cafes and restaurants are now delivering. Artists and designers can take instruction virtually. Many many businesses can thrive remotely but only with the support of their loyal customers. We are very much OPEN for business, but in a new way. We have always promoted virtual tours and now that is a reality. Virtual tours, virtual viewings, virtual valuations. We can do it all. So please, support us, support your friends, support local businesses, support one another through all of this. Do not downplay it. This is not a nice virus. It is deadly and it kills. 

Stay safe and well!